Find your voice by joining the Summer Reading Challenge!
“Every voice matters and deserves to be heard,” said Library Programming and Outreach Administrator Tynan Edwards. “It goes beyond our spoken words to the art we create, how we express ourselves, and the actions we take every day to change our world.”
This year’s Summer Reading Challenge offers fun for the whole family, with an exciting new lineup of Reading Challenge prizes, free programs from top performers, and the return of the ever-popular Super Cool Book Parade.
Summer reading allows kids to explore their passions without an assignment telling them what to read. The Library supports teens and adults on their reading journeys but is homing in this year on instilling the joy of reading in young children for a lifetime love affair with books.
“This is the chance when students get to choose the books they read,” said Edwards. “The Library doesn’t have a reading list. We don’t put one out because we want kids to find the books that really speak to them. We don’t care as long as you pick up a book and love what you’re doing.”
- The Summer Reading Challenge runs from June 1 to Aug. 31, with registration starting May 1. Sign up at www.dcls.org/src, or use your existing Beanstack account at dcls.beanstack.org. Then start logging your reading, reviews, and activities, earning badges as books and minutes accumulate.
- For preschoolers, signing up for 1000 Books Before Kindergarten in addition to the Summer Reading Challenge makes every book count double.
This year, The Library delivers the fun with a new slate of exciting prizes. As always, Explore Your Community Bags, full of coupons and deals to local businesses, are available halfway through the summer for preschoolers who earn 50 points and school-aged kids and teens when they reach 100 points.
Now, every badge also earns an entry for raffles held throughout the summer – and just wait until you see the prizes. There are Legos and Duplo sets for preschoolers. Kids ages 5 to 12 can win tablets, back-to-school gear, Legos, and bicycles. There are also tablets, back-to-school gear, wireless headphones, and Foot Locker gift cards for teens. Adults can always use Harrisburg Senators’ tickets, Hersheypark passes, gift cards for gas and groceries, or a themed basket filled with local wines and cheeses. They can even win a bounce-house rental for the kids in their lives.
“No cost to you,” said Edwards. “All you have to do is come pick it up. It all goes back to reminding people that reading is just fun.”
The Library is also partnering with local elementary schools, offering Rita’s Italian Ice for students who complete the challenge.
Summer performers: Family fun
What else is on tap this summer? As Edwards puts it, “Boy, oh boy, do we have a lot of summer programs.”
Every library will have at least two different presenters from mid-June through August, live and in person. Check dcls.org or the summer edition of Compass, The Library’s seasonal guide to everything that’s going on, for details on these engaging activities for kids and families:
- Dinosaur Expedition Adventure: Kids will dig for fossils, hold dinosaur bones, and dig up a Triceratops!
- Andrew’s Big Show: Can a man fit through a coat hanger? Come for the laughs and amazement from this juggling variety act.
- Don’t Hate Me, I’m Just a Bug, with Ryan “The BugMan” Bridge: Kids can hold all sorts of creepy-crawlers, while Ryan debunks old stereotypes about bugs.
- Critters of All Kinds with Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary: Reptile rescuer Jesse Rothacker brings his slithering, crawling friends to meet the kids.
- Silly Joe Sings!: Boisterous entertainment with rubber chickens and songs about underpants.
- The Science Spectacular with Eric Energy: A wild and wacky way to learn about weather.
- All Together Now with Music Play Patrol: Put instruments in the hands of kids, and watch the magic happen.
- Miss Maggie Sings!: Songs, guitar, percussion, poems, and stories from an entertainer who captivates kids and adults alike.
- Ijapu’s Story Cloth with Mlanjeni Magical Theater: With music, magic, and help from the kids, African storytellers craft together a blanket of stories for Ijapu the turtle.
Registration is required and space is limited, so visit dcls.org/events or call (717) 234-4961 and choose option 6.
Super Cool Book Parade: Food and free books
Don’t miss the third annual Super Cool Book Parade, in Harrisburg and Halifax. Originating out of necessity during the pandemic, these outdoor celebrations with books and food – all free – have become a beloved tradition.
No, books won’t be parading down the street. Working with The Library, the Super Cool Book Lovers Club, a group advising The Library on acquiring diverse reading materials, organizes book giveaways by a stellar lineup of local literacy organizations.
This year’s participants are Tri-County OIC, American Literacy Corporation, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Zeta Theta Lambda Chapter, Kidney Foundation of Central Pennsylvania, AKA Foundation of Central PA, and Harrisburg – PA Chapter of The Links, Inc.
Plus, dinner is free, with treats from Munche Bagz Food Truck, Kona Ice, Reign & Taij’s Homemade Lemonade, and cookies from HACC culinary arts program.
Book events are making a difference, said Barbara Thompson, a member of Super Cool Book Lovers Club and longtime literacy advocate through Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Epsilon Sigma Omega Chapter. Encouraging signs include children recognizing books from their school libraries, or choosing a certain book because they already have another one of the selections.
“We’re trying to put the books in the hands of the kids in their homes,” Thompson said. “In the library, people check out a book and return it, but we want to make sure they see books in their homes and they can see themselves in them and see possibilities for themselves.”
Get all the details for both of the Super Cool Book Parades.